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Welcome to the Signal Solutions News Page.
Here you will find articles written by our staff.
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Subject: Quick Facts
What is Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)?
According to Wikipedia, “Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks which directs and carries data from one network node to the next. MPLS makes it easy to create "virtual links" between distant nodes. It can encapsulate packets of various network protocols.
MPLS is a highly scalable, protocol agnostic, data-carrying mechanism. In an MPLS network, data packets are assigned labels. Packet-forwarding decisions are made solely on the contents of this label, without the need to examine the packet itself. This allows one to create end-to-end circuits across any type of transport medium, using any protocol. The primary benefit is to eliminate dependence on a particular Data Link Layer technology, such as ATM, frame relay, SONET or Ethernet, and eliminate the need for multiple Layer 2 networks to satisfy different types of traffic. MPLS belongs to the family of packet-switched networks.”
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiprotocol_Label_Switching
Also, according to NetworkWorld, “The key thing to remember about MPLS is that it’s a technique, not a service — so it can be used to deliver anything from IP VPNs to Metro Ethernet services, or even to provision optical services. So although carriers build MPLS backbones, the services that users buy may not be called MPLS. They could be called anything from IP VPN to Metro Ethernet — or whatever the carriers’ marketing departments dream up next.”
Reference: http://www.networkworld.com/research/2007/040207-mpls-migration-explained.html
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